665°F has been one of the marquee restaurants in Andaz Singapore since the hotel opened in 2017. Designed by the Hong Kong-based André Fu Studio, the space features a winning combination of juicy prime cuts grilled in a Pira oven that’s heated to the eponymous 665°F, a lofty timber-lined ceiling anchored by a dramatic chandelier of globed lamps, and flawless views of Singapore’s skyscrapers and the sea beyond. The evergreen popularity of the menu means that the restaurant, which seats just 30, is invariably filled to capacity – a happy problem now resolved by the addition of The Cellar, which is also designed by André Fu Studio.
The cellar is a dramatic sequence of spaces that begins unfurling from the first step into the mood-lit entrance. Burgundy-hued and timber-lined, The Cellar’s bijou foyer is anchored by a vaulted ceiling over a smoky mirrored corridor, a round reception table, cast-white metal pendant lamp, and a tufted Persian-inspired rug that’s a whimsical homage to the carpet-shops of the hotel’s Kampong Glam neighbourhood.
A triple-layered archway made of distressed brick is framed by black ironmongery, reassuringly solid timber doors, and teal blue velvet curtains that pull back to reveal The Cellar’s intimate but perfectly proportioned dining room speckled with low-slung kidney-bean-shaped sofas and ribbed-back chairs. Underfoot are rugged cuts of dark Italian Cadia Grigio marble and light castle-grey sandstone, and bookending the space are timber display cabinets sheathed with wire-meshed doors.
The eye is drawn gently down the length of the room by an arched ceiling in rich hues of deep turquoise embedded with an elegant stretch of oak and copper ribs whose silhouette reminds you, appropriately at this height, of a bird’s outstretched wing, whilst copper shelves, framed by industrial rivets and the soft halo of light reflected through display wine bottles, conspire with copper straps, timber mouldings, and a mirrored clerestory to create the palimpsest of a cellar.
At the far end of the room is the small private dining room –, one wall lined by an abstract collage of semi-circled timber insets and mirrors, and the other opening dramatically outwards to an aerial view of IM Pei’s Gateway Towers.
For Fu, The Cellar is an unusual project born out of the need to create more space for an existing restaurant whilst infusing it with a distinct personality that, from a design perspective, also reads holistically.
CREDITS
Project: The Cellar
Studio: André Fu Studio
Location: Singapore
Year: 2022
